Why is uranus peculiar

The inner rings are narrow and dark and the outer rings are brightly colored. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to fly by Uranus. No spacecraft has orbited this distant planet to study it at length and up close. Like Venus, Uranus rotates east to west. But Uranus is unique in that it rotates on its side. Uranus is the "butt" of more than a few jokes and witty and not so witty puns, but it's also a frequent destination in various fictional stories, such as the video game Mass Effect and TV shows like "Doctor Who.

Uranus is made of water, methane, and ammonia fluids above a small rocky center. Its atmosphere is made of hydrogen and helium like Jupiter and Saturn, but it also has methane.

The methane makes Uranus blue. Uranus also has faint rings. The inner rings are narrow and dark. The outer rings are brightly colored and easier to see. Like Venus, Uranus rotates in the opposite direction as most other planets. And unlike any other planet, Uranus rotates on its side. The Latest. Kid-Friendly Uranus Uranus is made of water, methane, and ammonia fluids above a small rocky center.

JPL's lucky peanuts are an unofficial tradition at big mission events. Although it's very dim, Uranus is visible to the naked eye on certain dark, clear nights.

However, even when the ice giant is out and about, you'll need sharp vision to see it without binoculars or a telescope. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. The Solar System. Uranus' axis been tilted at a jaw-dropping Compare that to Earth's axial tilt of just Lawrence Sromovsky, Univ.

Wisconsin-Madison , Keck Observatory. This image shows a representation Uranus' magnetic field. The yellow arrow points to the sun, the light blue arrow marks Uranus' magnetic axis, and the dark blue arrow marks Uranus' rotation axis. Using infrared filters, the Hubble Space Telescope captured detailed images of three layers of Uranus' atmosphere in The red around the planet's edge represents a very thin haze at a high altitude.

The yellow near the bottom of Uranus is another hazy layer. The deepest layer, the blue near the top of Uranus, shows a clearer atmosphere. Now That's Interesting. Uranus is the only planet whose equator is nearly at a right angle to its orbit, with a tilt of This unique tilt causes the most extreme seasons in the solar system. How many moons does Uranus have? Uranus has 27 known moons, 25 of which were named after Shakespeare characters like Ophelia, Juliet, Desdemona and Puck.

What are Uranus rings made of? The rings are relatively dim and lack the fine particles observed in other ring systems like Saturn's. Each ring is composed of debris chunks that are golf ball-sized at minimum. For some reason, smaller material gets trapped in the spaces between these rings. What is the mass of Uranus compared to Earth?

Uranus is four times wider and about Is Uranus full of water? Science Geophysics How much does planet Earth weigh? Science The Solar System Does it rain on other planets? Science Space Exploration Does a planet need continents to support life? Science Space Exploration How many planets in our universe could support life? Science Stars Could a planet exist without a host star? Science Stars How do astronomers detect that a star has a planet orbiting it? Science Space Exploration Can we detect water on exoplanets?

Tonight's Sky — Enter coordinates. UTC Offset:. Picture of the Day Image Galleries. Watch : Mining the Moon for rocket fuel. Queen guitarist Brian May and David Eicher launch new astronomy book. Last chance to join our Costa Rica Star Party! Learn about the Moon in a great new book New book chronicles the space program. Dave's Universe Year of Pluto. Groups Why Join? Astronomy Day. The Complete Star Atlas. Uranus rolls along its orbit on its side — likely the result of a planetary collision during its youth.

Hold on. Bringing the universe to your door. The seventh planet from the Sun takes 84 Earth years to complete an orbit, and each summer and winter season lasts 42 years. Uranus reached vernal equinox December 7, Why is Uranus on its side? Another planet probably hit it in its youth.

When you factor in this with its intense green color caused by its mysteriously abundant methane, its howling winds, and its icy temperatures, among other things, then you have what is arguably the strangest gas giant of all — no matter how you pronounce it. Snapshot : Chandra discovers X-rays from Uranus. Four crazy stars astronomers think might really exist. March 13 marks years since William Herschel discovered Uranus. Uranus and Neptune's differences might boil down to collisions. Uranus rides high in the Ram.

Why do astronomers call Uranus and Neptune ice giants? Heidi Hammel: Exploring ice giant planets. Cosmos: Origin and Fate of the Universe. Astronomy's Moon Globe. Galaxies by David Eicher.